Halloween Make Up: Chelsea Grin tutorial

BY: MICAYLA VERMEEREN

Happy October!
Halloween is slowly creeping up on us, which means it’s almost time to pick the perfect costume to rock on the 31st. I’m here to share some of my favorite high-impact, low-effort makeup looks that you can use to be the life of the party. To kick things off, I’ve created a tutorial for my personal favorite—the Chelsea grin! This morbid wound is the calling card for characters like the Joker and the Black Dahlia.

To create this look, you’ll need

Liquid latex

Blood gel

Liquid Foundation

Powder

A thin makeup brush

Q-tips

A makeup sponge

A stippling sponge

A powder brush

Step One: Creating the outline

Using liquid latex and your thin makeup brush, apply an outline of the shape you want your grin to take onto your face, starting at the outer corners of your mouth and extending into your cheeks. It might help to have a reference photo nearby to use as a guide. Start with one layer of the latex, and slowly build on top of that to create a defined ridge. Once you’re satisfied, give the latex a few minutes to dry.

Tutorial Step 1.1

Step Two: Covering the latex

With the base of your grin in place, you can now move on to evening out the color of the cuts to make it look more realistic. Using your makeup sponge, gently dab a liquid foundation that matches your natural skin tone onto the latex. Since most latex dries white, the outline may show up as a bit lighter than the rest of your skin. That’s okay! Once we apply the blood gel, you won’t be able to notice. Set your foundation by gently applying a similarly colored or translucent powder with a fluffy brush.

Step Three: Get bloody

Here’s where the true Halloween spirit comes into play! Using a Q-tip or other small makeup brush, apply a generous layer of blood gel to the inside of your grin. Don’t be stingy with the amount you use! Remember, we’re trying to recreate the look of a fresh wound, so the bloodier, the better. Concentrate the blood gel in the center of your cut to help give the illusion of depth.

Tutorial Step 3.1

Step Four: Stipple and drag

Now that the blood gel is in place, it’s time to stipple out the blood and create a few “splatters” across your mouth. This helps add texture and distribute the blood gel to give your grin a more gritty, sawed-through feel. Simply take the stippling sponge and quickly dab it across your grin, letting the blood fall slightly out of the latex borders at times.

Tutorial Step 4.1

Step Five: Sit back and admire your handiwork

You are now the proud wearer of a completely chilling Chelsea grin. From here, you can finish any additional face or eye makeup, pop on a costume, and paint the town blood red!

Tutorial Step 5

Have fun, get creepy, and be sure to share your final looks with all of us at DIG!